Analysing the European genera of family Lestidae (Odonata: Zygoptera) with special emphasis on the status of Chalcolestes based on the morphological characteristics of male adults

Csilla Vajdaa , László József Szabóa, Csaba Cserhátib, György Dévaia

  1. Department of Hydrobiology, Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
  2. Department of Solid State Physics, Institute of Physics, Humanities and Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary

International Journal of Odonatology, Volume 21, Issue 3-4, Pages 241-259, 2018
https://doi.org/10.1080/13887890.2018.1547224
Published: 3 July 2018 (Received: 4 April 2018, Accepted: 8 November 2018)

Abstract

Lestidae is a heterogeneous family with more than 150 species worldwide. There are many debates concerning its resolution. One of them is whether the genus Chalcolestes should be recognized as a genus or considered as a synonym of Lestes. We compared male characteristics of eight Hungarian species of three genera (Lestes, Chalcolestes and Sympecma) of the family Lestidae to get closer to the answer. We analysed the morphometry of genital and non-genital characteristics and the morphology of the secondary genitalia, especially the ligula. The morphometric analyses showed that two Chalcolestes species were the biggest in the most of the cases while Sympecma fusca (Vander Linden, 1820) and Lestes virens (Charpentier, 1825) were the smallest. The genera were separated mainly by the genitalic traits in the morphometric analyses. The differences in the secondary genitalia strengthen the generic status of Chalcolestes.

Keywords: Odonata, dragonfly, Lestes, Chalcolestes, Sympecma, secondary genitalia, ligula, genital and non-genital characters

Issue section: Article